Historic Webster Vol. 7 No. 2

newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME VII, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1981
Searching for the Mountain Woman's Identity
By Alice E. Mathews
On the letterhead of the
Council on Appalachian
Women stationary appear a
tree with spreading roots and
the logo: "The trees that sur·
round her symboli ze the
character of the Appalachian
woman .'' In that statement is
implied the uniqueness of Ap­palachian
women- a feeling
that is not restricted to the
Council stationery. Similar
sentiments are continually ex­pressed
in women's meetings.
Last spring, for instance, at a
program in Asheville , both
white and black women native
to the region became visibly
annoyed when the speaker
suggested that Appalachian
women did not differ from
other American women. For
the majority of individuals sit­ling
in the audience, Ap­palachian
women were, in­deed,
unique: they were hard­working,
honest , loyal , strong,
fami ly-oriented and God­fearing.
An older member of
They were hard­working,
honest, loyal,
strong, family
oriented, and God­fearing.
the audience, somewhat skep­tical
of debate, however , only
wished that if these virtues
were possessed in the region
by the females , that they
would share them with their
male kin. In another southern
mountain community, a resi­dent
asked "where else but in
Appalachia would one find a
woman who would dig
potatoes all day and then carl
them to market." The obvious
answer might be Idaho or
Maine - but the audience
would hardly have found such
an answer acceptable. Cer­tainly
, many people of Ap­palachia
are convinced that
Appalachian women do
possess certain qualities that
distinguish them from other
American females. Writers
outside the region also
substantiate this belief. But is
the character of the Ap­palachian
woman more a
stereotype than a reality?
wife in Western North
Carolina.
We found in course and in
the interviews that the
students conducted that cer­tain
attitudes did characterize
the women that we studied
(primarily in southern Ap­palachia
l -but we also
discovered that other women
in other locales or other eras
shared similar beliefs and
views on life. What is unique
about the Appalachian ex­perience,
perhaps, was that
the women who shared these
characteristics, who
represented various
Mrs. Margaret Barker Cagle (1840-1906), wife of Evan H. Cagle, Webster's postmaster from
1901-1908, and her great granddaughter Francie Monteith, an instructor at Southwestern
Technical College, represent the changing roles of Appalachian women.
socioeconomic backgrounds
were shaped by the past isola­tion
of the region, an abiding
love for and identity with the
mountains, and a sincere
(Con0nood on poge 4)
ln the class on Appalachian
women taught by Nancy
Joyner and me last spring, we
asked the members to define
the stereotype of the Ap­palachian
woman at the first
session. A student from
Bryson City quickly replied,
"an Appalachian woman
wears brogans and lives up a
hollar .on a branch." One of
her peers from Florida im­mediately
questioned what
brogans were - or for that
matter, what was a hollar -
or a branch. The theme of the
course that day became one to
discover the identity of the Ap­palachian
woman, and the
search perhaps ended (or
really began) with a remark
made by the writer Wilma
Dykeman in one of the student
interviews: "The Appalachian
woman has a thousand faces. "
Robert Coles and Jane
Hallowell Coles in their book
Women of Crisis present the
stories of five poor ,
uneducated American women.
Hannah Morgan (a fictitious
name), a native of Harlan
County, Kentucky, who now
lives in Dayton, Ohio, presents
a moving story in the chapter
" Mountain Dreams." Her
yearning for the mountains
and her hollar , her devotion to
her family , her religious at­titudes
and fatalism clearly
describe the characteristics
that we often ascribe to the
mountain mother and wife. At
one point in the narrative, the
authors in describing Han­nah
's attitudes towards her
job mention " the moral com­pulsions
of a mountaineer's
conscience - that Hannah
"knew how demanding her
conscience" was and "how
sternly she had been brought
up, how anxious she became
when it came to work. She
knew how angry she felt when
she saw others loafing,
avoiding their responsibilities ,
doing only the least amount
necessary to get by." Han­nah
's description of herself
and the comments of the Coles
remind one of Harriet Arnow's
portrayal of Gertie in The
Dollmaker. But Hannah
reminds the authors in a later
section of the chapter of
another woman: "This poor,
hard-pressed, working-class
woman, who had about the
equivalent of a sixth-grade
education, and who had never
heard of the name Henrick
Ibsen or the play A Doll's
House, nevertheless pointed
out to us several days after­wards
symbolic connections
not unlike those made decades
ago by a Norwegian writer of
considerable subtlety and
sophistication." Hannah is not
just Appalachian, but her at­titudes
are shaped by class
and sex, and like other in­dividua
ls in the book she is a
·•woman in crisis." What one
must also remember is that a
woman like Hannah Morgan
has as much or more in com­mon
with a factory worker's
wife in a northern city or a
coal miner's wife in Penn­sylvania
than with a farmer's
Annie Louise Madison Reed
Annie Louise Madison Reed, the daughter of Western
Carolina University founder, Professor Robert Lee Madison
and Mrs. Madison, passed away June 11, 1981. She was a
strong supporter of the Webster Historical Society and a loyal,
dedicated Webster daughter.
PAGE 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1981
Coming Home Brings Memories., Expectations
By Hilda McGinnis Hoffman
I was asked to relate my
feelings about " coming
home" after having been
away for some 33 years. I
must begin by saying that
Webster was never "home"
for me, but then neither was
Sylva. I guess you might say
that I had the best of both as a
young girl , h aving been born
in a house just across from the
old E.P. Stillwell home on
Highway 107.
While my parents Sam and
Hattie McGinnis were stillliv·
ing we visited often in Webstt!r
because my Uncle Harve and
Aunt Clara Patterson made
their home in Webster most of
the time. Our two families
were often together along with
all our Georgia relatives who
came "to the mountains" to
escape that Georgia heat. I
can well remember when they
would come and bring those
Georgia Bell peaches, and we
would sit and peel them during
the day when it was so hot, so
that canning could begin early
in the morning.
Many people I encounter
now seem to remember me,
but I feel I am at a great disad­vantage
because in most cases
I do not remember them. Hav­ing
lost both of my parents by
the time I was twelve, my life
took on a different course.
My sister, Kathleen <Mrs.
Frank Buchanan of Webster ),
took me to Washington , D.C. ,
where I completed my educa­tion,
met my husband, D.E.
<Huck ) Hoffman who had
grown up in New Mexico.
After Huck completed his
military service, we moved to
Albuquerque and for the last
25 years the Land of Enchant­ment
has been my home.
If anyone had asked me if I
would ever return to the
mountains to live, I would
have promptly said, "NO" . I
don 't reauy thmk ll ever
entered my mind. I just
assumed that having business
interests there and our family
and friends we were pretty
well entrenched in the
Southwestern Life style which
greatly differs from the moun­tains.
But as we all tend to
grow older , our moods
change, our pace slows, and
we begin to think in terms of
that favored expression:
"when we retire."
daughters , Brenda and Susan,
plus a handsome grandson ,
Joshua , and a beautiful new
granddaughter Rhonda Sue.
How does it feel "to come
home?" I don 't think I can
answer that. But I can give
you some of my impressions.
First, there is an advantage
to having been born in
Jackson County. We en­counter
this fact almost daily.
Once people find that I was
born here , we seem to be bet­ter
accepted. Mountain people
are friendly , but they are
friendlier to their own. It's like
they are one big family,
"We are really getting our feet into
Webster's red clay."
So it was natural that the
hectic pace of business and the
desire for some peace and
quiet would lead us to visit in
the mountains with Kathleen
and Frank.
On this visit we spotted this
lovely Davis home one
December afternoon when the
sun was just setting. We
found, much to our surprise
that it was for sale. Before we
knew it we had placed a binder
on it and were winging our
way back to New Mexico to
place our house in order and
set our course on retirement.
May 21, 1979, Huck and I
became the "new kids on the
block" in Webster. Now we
are really getting our feet
down into the red clay and we
can't think of living any place
else. Oh, of course there have
been adjustments to make, not
only here, but from a family
standpoint as well. We left in
New Mexico two beautiful
always looking out for each
other. I'm glad I can say I'm
one of the family. I like that.
I enjoy getting out and driv­ing
around with Huck and try­ing
to show him places I can
remember from my child­hood.
For example: Buchanan
Loop (old Cemetery Road) I
remembered as being red clay
all the way around when I was
a child. You could pick
blackberries and wildflowers
along the way. It 's paved now
but the berries and flowers are
still there.
I take him down River Road
on the unpaved side and show
him the old swimming hole
where we used to go and swing
on those grapevines and play
in the sand along the river
bank.
I can remember when
Rhinehart's had the store in
Webster and my cousin Peggy
Patterson and I would go in
and get us some penny candy.
Can you imagine paying a pen­ny
for anything today?
I wish the store was still
there . When we first came
here I thought it would be real­ly
inconvenient not to have a
store in Webster, but I have
learned to adjust. I would still
-like to have the old
Rhinehart's store , but I don 't
want any other- it just would
not be the same.
I take great pride in telling
people I live in Webster- the
only incorporated town left in
the United States that does not
have city taxes ! ll is fun to
take our visitors to the post of­fice.
They hardly believe it.
One even told me it looked just
like a doll 's house. Oh yes ,
there are so many nice things
about living in Webster.
It's neat to be able to "jump
the fence" and talk to the
Bry sons about canning,
gardening, or just sit a spell. I
can bounce up on Mrs.
McKee 's porch and s ay
" Hello" whenever I feel like
it. I can hear the Webster
church bells on Sunday morn­ings,
listen to the birds sing
and see the squirrels run
across the lawn. I can walk to
Loop and stop to visit with
Barbara Allison or Joe and
Kate Rhinehart.
Hilda McGinnis, 12, in 1945
Hilda and Huck Hoffman lived in New Mexico when this
photo~raph wuM taken in 1979.
A Country Church
By Holli Ledford
Whoever would have thought that a small country
church with a congregation of fewer than twenty and a
sermon only every other Sunday could sustain as strong a
faith as Westminster Church of England? Anyone who•
nas ever attended Webster Umted MethOdiSt cnurcn
would quickly see the close relationship between family
and friends.
A typical Sunday for me consists of walking across the
street and meeting with friends in the churchyard of our
old-fashioned church. My little brother Ray announces the
beginning of church by ringing the bell. Everyone then
gathers in the quaint little churchroom, with frosted glass
in place of the regular stained glass, to take his seat.
Church begins with an opening prayer led by Rev. Dale
Troutman. After the opening hymn, our minister talks in­formally
about church business. He makes everyone feel
he belongs by including even the children. For example,
our morning offering is taken up by Ray and his friend
Lon Pate. Then the service takes on a formal note as our
minister begins his sermon. For the closing hymn, he
always asks my sister Gretchen for a suggestion.
This tiny white, wooden-frame church with its three
rooms can hold as much love, faith, and warmth as
Westminster Abbey ..
THIS IS A PAPER WRIITEN BY Holli Ledford, graded at Camp
Lab School in Cullowhee with a grade of quote "very good, must be
a wonderful place in which to worship."
Webster United Methodist Church
HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1981, PAGE 3
As Senator and Neighbor
Gertrude D. McKee Served County with Skill
By Joe P. Rhinehart ing, when she was the member of the County Board
<Part three of a three presiding officer and the of Public Welfare, and as a
part series) pianist did not appear , to turn member of the County Library
the meeting over to her vice Board.
Senator Gertrude Dills Mc­Kee
won her next bill on school
attendance by the use of
humor, sarcasm, and ac­curate
knowledge of what the
bill was about. This was
something, she said, her op­ponents
did not have. This
time she won a distinct victory
over several more experienc­ed
male legislators and
secured the passage by the
Senate of a bill that seemed
doomed to postponement if not
defeat.
The bill, which was in­troduced
by Senator Baggett
of Harnett, provided that
children between the ages of
fourteen and sixteen must con­tinue
school through the sixth
grade unless they were
physically or mentally in­capable
of profiting by further
education or unless they or
their families were in need of
their earnings. It was par­ticularly
aimed at street loaf­ing
by boys under sixteen and
provided that regardless of
how many grades they had
finished they must return to
school. The present law allow­ed
children of fourteen who
had finished the fourth grade
to stop school.
After much controversy,
which Senator McKee thought
was useless , she said, " I said
at the beginning of the session
that I would not talk about
anything I didn't know about,
and I want to say that I know
more about boys and girls
than all of you put together."
Carefully, as if she was ex­plaining
the bill to boys and
gi rls she explained it to the
sena te. " I am surprised at all
the controversy over this bill.
It is so flexible that I don 't
think it can do, mch goo J, but
certainly it can do no harm . It
applies to those children who
are not now at work and are
not in schools. I am not in
favor of re-referring it. Why
all this delay? We are acting
like children. Mr. President, I
move the previous question."
And not only did the pre­vious
question carry but the
bill itself carried by a sub­stantial
majority.
Mrs. McKee by her own
choice did not return to the
Senate till the 1937 session and
it was at this session that her
most important bill was
presented and passed.
Mr!'i. Gertrude McKee was well known throughout the state for
her work and interest in school and public welfare problems.
She died in Sylva on Novemher 27, 1948.
on such measures won com­mendation
from all sides.
"The new bill prohibits the
employment of children under
16 years of age in all manu­facturing
establishments and
at all hazardous occupations,"
Senator McKee said. The new
bill required certificates for
all minors under eighteen.
These certificates were to be
from the school, employer,
and physician. Fifty occupa­tions
were listed as hazardous.
It also set hours of labor and
duties for girls. This law,
which regulated the employ­ment
of 11,000 children in
North Carolina, brought vital
change and improvement in
working conditions.
Mrs. McKee again took a
leave of absence from the
senate, but returned to its hall
once more in 1943.
Among the numerous com­mittees
on which Senator
McKee served was the
Welfare Committee of which
she was the chairman. She
was also a member of the Ap-clear
cut victory.
One evening a woman came
out of an Asheville cafeteria,
stepped up to the newsboy who
was crying his wares on the
sidewalk, and handed him a
big piece of chocolate cake.
" ... always get more than I
can eat in there- maybe you
like chocolate cake?" she said
to the youngster. A stranger in
the city, his eyes widened with
delighted surprise, remarked
to his companion about it.
"Oh, her?" the townsman
answered with pride. " She's
Mrs. McKee, the state senator
from the 32nd district."
A visitor in Sylva was stan­ding
on a corner asking one of
the citizens about Mrs .
McKee, this woman senator
from the west and at that mo­ment
a group of youngsters
dressed in football suits pass­ed
by and called across the
street to another boy.
" Hey, come on, we're going
to play Cullowhee in McKee's
back yard. Mrs. McKee
doesn 't care."
"Oh her?" the townsman answered with
pride. "She's Mrs. McKee, the senator."
That gave sufficient insight
into the character of this
woman who the western
district chose to be the first
woman representative in the
senatorial hall of the state.
This bill which, according to
nationa l authorities, put North
Carolina in the very foremost
in the Union in the matter of
child labor legislation. It was
the McKee Child Labor Bill.
The McKee Child Labor
Law went into effect July 1,
1937. Mrs. McKee was chair­man
of the senate welfare
committee, and so all social
legislation passed through
her committee. The fact that
she got the child labor bill
through both the house and
senate without the usual fight
propriations, Education ,
Highways , Elections, Conser­vation
, Health, Finance, and
Insurance Committees.
Mrs. McKee announced in
1948 that she would make the
Senate race for the fourth
time. Her purpose this time
was to "work untiringly for
the improvement of school fa ­cilities.
including buildings
and equipment, and for a
s ubstantial increase in
teacher's salaries." Again, for
the fourth time. she won a
Senator McKee was the
leading alto in the Methodist
church choir. She lived on the
main street of Sylva with the
latch string hanging out.
Never a day passed without
friends coming in or out. She
could decorate the social hall
of the church. She could set a
lovely table and preside as a
charming hostess in her home
or in the convention hall. She
could bake a cake. She had
been known , at a large gather-president
and play for the Of the many varied interests
singing. She could put in a which made up the
"good damn" as anybody. She remarkable life of Mrs. E.L.
had to with a husband and McKee, none was so impor­three
husky boys. She was a
woman of taste and charm in
dress, with light curly hair
and twinkling eyes, and a soft
yet powerful and pleasant
voice that made one man who
had never seen her but heard
her speak over the telephone
remark:
"There's one thing that Mrs.
McKee is going to take into the
legislature with her and that is
one of the most pleasing
voices I have ever heard."
On a radio program from
Asheville, Mrs. McKee
described the resources of
Jackson County. After telling
the history and future hopes
and possibilities of the county,
she ended her address with
this:
"No doubt, my hearers, you
have discovered from my
remarks that I think highly of
my native county. Well, so I
do. I invite you to come and
see for yourself."
" Here 's to the land of the
mountains tall
To her forest, streams, and
waterfalls
Where the sun doth shine
and soft breezes sigh.
Here 's to home, The Land
of the Sky,"
Her first public service was
as a member of the State
School Commission appointed
by Governor McLean in 1926.
To the work of this commis-sion
is given the credit for
tant or consumed as much of
her limitless energy as did her
church work. Here, as in
everything else, her activities
were not confined to Sylva
alone. She regularly attended
the annual conference and
took a keen interest in all that
transpired there.
Although she participated in
religious affairs of her state,
she was never too busy to
serve on a committee from
her local Women's Society of
Christian Service. She attend­ed
meetings and services of
her Methodist church with a
devout regularity and con­tributed
liberally of her
material wealth and of the
wealth of her matchless
leadership and advice. She
had held, at one time or
another, all the important of­fices
of the church.
On Saturday, November 27,
1948, Mrs. McKee had just
returned home from
Waynesville, where she had
participated in the annual
tobacco festival. Shortly after
arriving home she complained
of not feeling well and a physi­cian
was called. She failed to
rally from emergency
treatments. Her death was at­tributed
to a heart attack.
At the funeral, the Sylva
Methodist Church was filled to
overflowing and many who
gathered were unable to get
in. Many political and civic
"A common sense enriched by culture seemed
to foUow her in every step which she took."
securing the constitutional
amendment which increased
the state's school term from
six months to eight months.
Later she was named by
Governor J.M. Broughton as
the only woman member on
the twelve man Board of
Education which the
legislature authorized him to
appoint. On accepting she
became the first woman con­stitutional
officer.
Other North Carolina gover­nors
recognized Mrs. McKee's
interest and abilities in the
field of state schools and
public institutions. She served
as trustee of Western Carolina
College, Peace College,
Brevard College, and the
University of North Carolina.
She was also a member of the
Commission for the Consolida­tion
of the University of North
Carolina.
Mrs. McKee served on
many other important local
and state boards and to all of
these she brought an unselfish
interest and an earnest
helpfulness. She served as
chairman of the Jackson
County Board of Education
from 1933-1935, and was a
leaders from all over the state
attended.
After the funeral the body
was moved from the church to
the cemetery high on a hill
overlooking the land she so
loved.
"There is something almost
fantastic in the death of this
woman whose whole life had
been spent in casting out
death," commented a writer
in The Raleigh News­Observer.
It is difficult to say
in which realm of a citizen she
will be most missed. "A com­mon
sense enriched by culture
seemed to follow her in every
step which she took in a world
so different from the one into
which she had been born.
An Editorial in
The Sylva Herald:
" In the sudden and unex­pected
passing of Mrs. E.L.
McKee, Jackson County has
sustained a severe loss, a loss
which will be felt for a long
time to come. It has been said
that when a person passes on
that there is a lways another to
take his place. This may be
true in many instances, but
PAGE 4, HISTORIC WE BSTER, Summer , 1981
Mrs. McKee Understood Hilda and Huck Hoffman Become
and Loved People Part of "a beautiful new world"
(Cotltinuetl from ~e J) deserving honors bestowed ((ANltimlt!lll fn~tn JN'f!•· 21 them. Our welcome mat is a lways
there just isn't another Mrs. upon her in the years she took And then there are all those City folk a ll across the na - out
McKee in Jackson County, or so much interest in the public nice folks we have come to lion are trying to get back to This then, is how it feels to
in any other western North welfa re. In everything she know: Cla ude and Ma ry the basics-that of living in a " come home."
Carolina county for that mat- undertookto doshe put herself Cowan, Mildred Cowan, and friendly , safe, free, and un-ter
. When there was a drive of thoroughly in to the undertak- the Troutmans. Add a few: congested community. We a re
importa nce to be put in ing. R.L. Haskett, whom I have lucky that Webster is just such
J ackson County to raise funds "She will be missed most by known a ll my life and Lona , a place. We look forward to
forthegoodofthecommunity, her fa mily and in her home, their children, and ma ny having our fa mily and grand-state,
or county, Mrs. McKee but her great host of fri ends more. Add to thi s all the cats children visit us a nd enjoy the
was looked to put it over . Last and admirer s throughout the and dogs- well , before you bea utiful place which Mr. and
summer 0947) when the polio state will also miss her. Her know it you find that you a re a Mrs. Davi s spent so much
si tuation was at its most leadership in her church, the par t of a beautiful world . I time in planning and develop-critical
stage, Jackson County clubs, and other activities of don't believe there is a person ing. We are adding our own
was called on to contribute Sylva and Jackson County will in Webster to whom I cannot per sonality to it now and we
$1,000. Mrs. McKee, as a com- be keenly missed in the years wave and have him return his h ope th a t we can add
mittee of one, went out and to come. greeting. Now I ask you- something to its beauty in the
r aised the money in one morn- " She understood and loved wher e else do you know this years to come.
ing. It was in doing things like people. Perha ps that better type of living environment in We do enjoy so much this
this that made her a forceful than a nything else described existence today? Maybe there home and hope that each of
leader in her town and county. her and the ma ny successes ar e one or two places like this, our Webster neighbors will
"Mrs. McKee had many she atta ined in public." but !for one do not know a bout feel free to drop by a ny time.
Women Face
Same Problems
(Continued from ~e 1)
belief, on the part of many,
that they were, indeed, uni­que.
But at the same time they
faced t he probl ems of
womanhood in the 1980's and
also sha red an identity with
other American women.
Dr. Math e ws, an Ap ­p
a lac hian wom an . is a
member of the history starr of
Western Ca rolin a Univers ity.
Pictures from a Webster Scrapbook
Photographs by Rogers Cowa rd
River Bank Music Session
Roger Coward joined with Samantha Bumgarner a nd Edith Smathers of W a yneoville for a ..,...
sion in the Bumgarner yard on the bonks of the Tucka8egee River. They, wi th other musicians
traveled around the countryside in the early 1930's in Carson Burngante r's cur.
County Hit by Flood
..........__ :_-_=. ~ "'"" ";.-_
Jackson Counly was hil by u devnstutin~ nood on AUJ!US( 30, 1940. The Scotts' f.reek trestle co~
lapsed with the Blackwood Lumber Compuny tntin.
Summer Fishing
Rogel"'8 Coward caught the ftSh., but Don Da vis gol into
Coward's photogruph. The sununer 1939, fishing trip nel­ted
the fourteen pound catfish.
~HISTORIC~
WEBS TEl
Summer !981
Editor
new sletter olthe WeDster Hrstoru;al Socrely Inc
We bster, North Carolina 28788
Joe P . Rhine ha rt
Coruribulors: Alice Mothews, Dale Coward, Hildu Ho ff­man,
Ho lli Led ford, Sumuel Bla nton.
l' uh l i ~ h c d q ll ill't t· r ly hy tb t• W t · h ~tt • r Hi ... to ri t·a l Sm·it •ty :111<1
pri nt t·d h_y th t· ll t·l·: lld Puhli ~ h i n g Cnm pa 11 .Y· .-.; y lva . North
C 1r n lin a .

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newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME VII, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1981
Searching for the Mountain Woman's Identity
By Alice E. Mathews
On the letterhead of the
Council on Appalachian
Women stationary appear a
tree with spreading roots and
the logo: "The trees that sur·
round her symboli ze the
character of the Appalachian
woman .'' In that statement is
implied the uniqueness of Ap­palachian
women- a feeling
that is not restricted to the
Council stationery. Similar
sentiments are continually ex­pressed
in women's meetings.
Last spring, for instance, at a
program in Asheville , both
white and black women native
to the region became visibly
annoyed when the speaker
suggested that Appalachian
women did not differ from
other American women. For
the majority of individuals sit­ling
in the audience, Ap­palachian
women were, in­deed,
unique: they were hard­working,
honest , loyal , strong,
fami ly-oriented and God­fearing.
An older member of
They were hard­working,
honest, loyal,
strong, family
oriented, and God­fearing.
the audience, somewhat skep­tical
of debate, however , only
wished that if these virtues
were possessed in the region
by the females , that they
would share them with their
male kin. In another southern
mountain community, a resi­dent
asked "where else but in
Appalachia would one find a
woman who would dig
potatoes all day and then carl
them to market." The obvious
answer might be Idaho or
Maine - but the audience
would hardly have found such
an answer acceptable. Cer­tainly
, many people of Ap­palachia
are convinced that
Appalachian women do
possess certain qualities that
distinguish them from other
American females. Writers
outside the region also
substantiate this belief. But is
the character of the Ap­palachian
woman more a
stereotype than a reality?
wife in Western North
Carolina.
We found in course and in
the interviews that the
students conducted that cer­tain
attitudes did characterize
the women that we studied
(primarily in southern Ap­palachia
l -but we also
discovered that other women
in other locales or other eras
shared similar beliefs and
views on life. What is unique
about the Appalachian ex­perience,
perhaps, was that
the women who shared these
characteristics, who
represented various
Mrs. Margaret Barker Cagle (1840-1906), wife of Evan H. Cagle, Webster's postmaster from
1901-1908, and her great granddaughter Francie Monteith, an instructor at Southwestern
Technical College, represent the changing roles of Appalachian women.
socioeconomic backgrounds
were shaped by the past isola­tion
of the region, an abiding
love for and identity with the
mountains, and a sincere
(Con0nood on poge 4)
ln the class on Appalachian
women taught by Nancy
Joyner and me last spring, we
asked the members to define
the stereotype of the Ap­palachian
woman at the first
session. A student from
Bryson City quickly replied,
"an Appalachian woman
wears brogans and lives up a
hollar .on a branch." One of
her peers from Florida im­mediately
questioned what
brogans were - or for that
matter, what was a hollar -
or a branch. The theme of the
course that day became one to
discover the identity of the Ap­palachian
woman, and the
search perhaps ended (or
really began) with a remark
made by the writer Wilma
Dykeman in one of the student
interviews: "The Appalachian
woman has a thousand faces. "
Robert Coles and Jane
Hallowell Coles in their book
Women of Crisis present the
stories of five poor ,
uneducated American women.
Hannah Morgan (a fictitious
name), a native of Harlan
County, Kentucky, who now
lives in Dayton, Ohio, presents
a moving story in the chapter
" Mountain Dreams." Her
yearning for the mountains
and her hollar , her devotion to
her family , her religious at­titudes
and fatalism clearly
describe the characteristics
that we often ascribe to the
mountain mother and wife. At
one point in the narrative, the
authors in describing Han­nah
's attitudes towards her
job mention " the moral com­pulsions
of a mountaineer's
conscience - that Hannah
"knew how demanding her
conscience" was and "how
sternly she had been brought
up, how anxious she became
when it came to work. She
knew how angry she felt when
she saw others loafing,
avoiding their responsibilities ,
doing only the least amount
necessary to get by." Han­nah
's description of herself
and the comments of the Coles
remind one of Harriet Arnow's
portrayal of Gertie in The
Dollmaker. But Hannah
reminds the authors in a later
section of the chapter of
another woman: "This poor,
hard-pressed, working-class
woman, who had about the
equivalent of a sixth-grade
education, and who had never
heard of the name Henrick
Ibsen or the play A Doll's
House, nevertheless pointed
out to us several days after­wards
symbolic connections
not unlike those made decades
ago by a Norwegian writer of
considerable subtlety and
sophistication." Hannah is not
just Appalachian, but her at­titudes
are shaped by class
and sex, and like other in­dividua
ls in the book she is a
·•woman in crisis." What one
must also remember is that a
woman like Hannah Morgan
has as much or more in com­mon
with a factory worker's
wife in a northern city or a
coal miner's wife in Penn­sylvania
than with a farmer's
Annie Louise Madison Reed
Annie Louise Madison Reed, the daughter of Western
Carolina University founder, Professor Robert Lee Madison
and Mrs. Madison, passed away June 11, 1981. She was a
strong supporter of the Webster Historical Society and a loyal,
dedicated Webster daughter.
PAGE 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1981
Coming Home Brings Memories., Expectations
By Hilda McGinnis Hoffman
I was asked to relate my
feelings about " coming
home" after having been
away for some 33 years. I
must begin by saying that
Webster was never "home"
for me, but then neither was
Sylva. I guess you might say
that I had the best of both as a
young girl , h aving been born
in a house just across from the
old E.P. Stillwell home on
Highway 107.
While my parents Sam and
Hattie McGinnis were stillliv·
ing we visited often in Webstt!r
because my Uncle Harve and
Aunt Clara Patterson made
their home in Webster most of
the time. Our two families
were often together along with
all our Georgia relatives who
came "to the mountains" to
escape that Georgia heat. I
can well remember when they
would come and bring those
Georgia Bell peaches, and we
would sit and peel them during
the day when it was so hot, so
that canning could begin early
in the morning.
Many people I encounter
now seem to remember me,
but I feel I am at a great disad­vantage
because in most cases
I do not remember them. Hav­ing
lost both of my parents by
the time I was twelve, my life
took on a different course.
My sister, Kathleen